title: Ultrafast photo-excitation dynamics in isolated, neutral water clusters.
abstract: Using the efficient nonlinear conversion scheme which was recently developed in our group [M. Beutler, M. Ghotbi, F. Noack, and I. V. Hertel, Opt. Lett. 134, 1491 (2010); M. Ghotbi, M. Beutler, and F. Noack, ibid 35, 3492 (2010)] to provide intense sub-50 fs vacuum ultraviolet laser pulses we have performed the first real time study of ultrafast, photo-induced dynamics in the electronically excited Ã-state of water clusters (H(2)O)(n) and (D(2)O)(n) , n=2-10. Three relevant time scales, 1.8-2.5, 10-30, and 50-150 fs, can be distinguished which-guided by the available theoretical results-are attributed to H (D)-ejection, OH (OD) dissociation, and a nonadiabatic transition through a conical intersection, respectively. While a direct quantitative comparison is only very preliminary, the present results provide a crucial test for future modeling of excited state dynamics in water clusters, and should help to unravel some of the many still unresolved puzzles about water.
authors.affiliation: Max Born Institute, Max-Born-St. 2a, 12489 Berlin-Adlershof, Germany.
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beutler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghotbi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noack
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Radloff
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhavoronkov
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Hertel
mesh_terms: D007834:Lasers; D011789:Quantum Theory; D014618:Vacuum; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water